(FRENCH LICK) - Russ Apple, head superintendent on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, has been honored by the Tri-State Golf Course Superintendents Association (GCSAA) as Superintendent of the Year in 2015.

Apple received the award at the recent Tri- State GCSA annual meeting in December at Rolling Hills Country Club.

The Tri-State GCSAA, which includes the states of Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, selects a superintendent annually by a committee who looks at such things as maintenance practices and participation within the association. The committee is made up of the previous year's winner and a group of superintendents in the Tri-state area.

"It is truly an honor to be selected and recognized by my peers in the industry," said Apple. "This award is a reflection of the great staff we have assembled at French Lick Resort who together bring a passion unmatched in the industry for maintaining one of the top golf courses in the country."

Apple has spent his entire life working outside and around agronomy from the farm he grew up on as a child to working on a golf course maintenance staff in high school. Those passions lead him to Purdue University where he earned a Turf Science Degree in 2003.

A GCSSA Member since 2012, Apple worked at several high-end facilities like Port Royal Plantation in Hilton Head, SC, and Eagle Creek Golf Club in Indianapolis, before coming to French Lick Resort where he worked on the historic Donald Ross course. In 2008 he opened the highly acclaimed Pete Dye Course and began preparing it for several national golf championships including the 2010 PGA Professional National Championship, 2012-2014 Big Ten Men's and Women's Championship, 2013-2014 The Legends Tour Championship, and the 2015 Senior PGA Championship Presented by KitchenAid.

"Russ has done a tremendous job in maintaining the Pete Dye course and preparing it for the many major golf championships we have hosted," said Dave Harner, Director of Golf at French Lick Resort. "His passion for agronomy and dedication to French Lick Resort is a huge reason the Dye course has become a nationally acclaimed golf venue."

About French Lick Resort

French Lick Resort is a $581 million restoration and development project including West Baden Springs Hotel, French Lick Springs Hotel and French Lick Casino. This Southern Indiana resort destination features 686 guest rooms and suites; a 51,000 square-foot casino; 63-holes of golf, including the Donald Ross Course and the Pete Dye Course; two full-service spas, meeting and event space, and an array of entertainment options. This historic resort has also hosted other golf events including the 76th Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid (2015), the LPGA Legends Championship (2013-2015), the PGA Professional National Championship (2010), the Big Ten Conference Men's and Women's Championships (2012-2014), and USGA Men's State Team Championships (2014). For more information, visit www.frenchlick.com